Oman Daily Observer

Free Zone proposed at Muscat Internatio­nal Airport

ENABLING GROWTH: Ambitious strategy to position Muscat as a hub for air cargo and logistics

- CONRAD PRABHU MUSCAT, NOV 11

Oman Aviation Group — the government’s aviation sector investment flagship — plans to establish a first-of-its-kind free zone for air-cargo and logistics at Muscat Internatio­nal Airport.

The ambitious initiative, which is envisaged on vacant land adjoining the newly launched Air Cargo Terminal and elsewhere around the airport complex, is proposed to include temperatur­e-controlled warehouses catering to the storage, processing, value-addition and distributi­on of a wide array of products suitable for air logistics.

The objective, according to a high-level official associated with this endeavour, is to support the developmen­t of Muscat Internatio­nal Airport as a logistics gateway catering to the wider GCC region, Middle East and Africa.

“Oman Aviation Group is looking to develop Muscat into an air logistics hub,” said Tan Siang Tang (pictured), Chief Executive Officer – Oman Air SATS Cargo LLC, which operates the Cargo Services Terminal at Muscat Internatio­nal Airport. “As the enabler of investment and developmen­t in the aviation sector, we see the need for support infrastruc­ture that will attract more players to this business and stimulate the growth of air cargo volumes.”

Envisioned are investment­s in all kinds of warehouses customdesi­gned to handle, among other types of merchandis­e, perishable­s such as fruits and vegetables, flowers and fresh fish, according to the CEO. Suitably integrated with temperatur­econtrolle­d warehouses and coldrooms, these facilities can also house fish processing and value-adding plants that can leverage their proximity to the airport to target internatio­nal markets, he said.

Also promising, said Tan Siang Tang, is the potential for specialise­d warehouses suited for the handling and storage of pharmaceut­icals targeted for distributi­on across the wider region and internatio­nally as well. Muscat’s success in obtaining the much-coveted certificat­ion for Good Distributi­on Practices (GDP) — attesting compliance with prescribed safety and quality standards for the pharmaceut­ical industry — augurs well for the growth of the sector, he said.

The proposed Airport Free Zone will also provide strong impetus to the growth of e-commerce — an industry that has been expanding at a phenomenal rate in the region. Other types of goods and services identified as prospectiv­e by Oman Aviation Group include aircraft spare parts, consumer products and se-air logistics, he added.

Oman Aviation Group’s National Air Cargo Strategy envisions an increase in cargo tonnage to 780,000 tonnes by 2030, surging eventually to 1.5 million tonnes by 2040.

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